What does immerse mean?
Word: Immerse
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Immerse means to put something completely under water or another liquid. It can also mean to become fully involved in an activity.
Word origin: From Latin immergere.
How do you spell immerse?
Syllables: im - merse
Tricky part: The double m is the trap. Only one m is heard, so writers drop the other.
Watch out for: imerse, emmerse
Memory tip: Write mm and look at it: two little waves. That is the water you immerse something in.
Immerse in a sentence
Example 1: Immerse the cotton cloth in warm water before you add the dye.
Example 2: Kavya loves to immerse herself in a good mystery on Sunday afternoons.
Example 3: Our science teacher asked us to immerse the thermometer fully in the ice water.
Fun Fact
Immerse a solid object fully in water and it pushes aside its own volume of water, an idea credited to Archimedes.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) reverse : reversal
b) disperse : dispersal
c) converse : conversion
d) immerse : immertion
Show answer
d) immerse : immertion. This verb makes its noun with sion, in the same way that converse does.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
imm_ _ _ _
a) urse
b) erce
c) irse
d) erse
Show answer
d) erse. These are the same four letters that end the word verse.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
resmime
a) to wash something with soap and a brush
b) to lower something until liquid covers it
c) to fold something until it fits in a bag
d) to lift something out of a deep box
Show answer
b) to lower something until liquid covers it. The letters rearrange to immerse, which is what you do to a teabag.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with words of similar meaning:
1. immerse 2. commence 3. conceal a. begin b. submerge c. hide
a) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c. Something submerged is under the surface, to commence is to begin, and to conceal is to hide.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A student is immersed in a novel. What is she most likely to do?
a) skip to the back cover
b) lose track of the time
c) read only the headings
d) pass it to a friend
Show answer
b) lose track of the time
2. Which instruction asks you to immerse something?
a) Sprinkle a little water over the dough.
b) Wipe the table with a damp cloth.
c) Pour the tea slowly into the cup.
d) Soak the beans in a full bowl of water.
Show answer
d) Soak the beans in a full bowl of water.
